Self-skimming sirup pan



Feb. 3, 1925. 1,524,837

R. A. MEADOWS l SELF SKIMMING SIRUP PAN Filed April 14, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fes. 3, 1925.

v 1,524,837 R. A. MEADOWS SELF SKIMMNG SIRUP PAN Filed April 14, 192s 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb.. 3, 1925.

UNiTE@ STATES ROBERT ASA MEADOWS, 0F CARMONA, TEXAS.

SELF-SKIMMING S'IRUP PAN.

Application filed April 14, 1923. Serial No. 632,152.

To all whom `t may concern:

Be it known that I, Ronn'r A. MEADOWS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Carmona, in the countyof Polk and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Skimming Sirup Pans, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to evaporating pans such as are used for making sirup from cane juice and the like, and more especially to that type of pan comprising a flat shallow receptacle having transverse partitions arranged therein so as to cause the liquid to flow back and forth across the pan as it travels from one end to the other thereof.

The objects of the invention are to provide a pan of this character having improved means vfor automatically skimming the liquid and returning juice into the pan, while separating and collecting the scum for removal, and also having an improved arrangement of strainers and partitions whereby7 the process of cooking or evaporating the juice and the skimming thereof is rendered more efficient.

In order that the invention may be readily l understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which y Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved pan;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan thereof, taken on a line below the level of the skimming troughs, hereinafter referred to;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the pan, parts of which are shown in elevation;.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are transverse sections on the lines 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 and 7,7 of Fig. 1, respectively, looking in the direction of the arrows, these figures being on a larger scale, and being partly broken away; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation on a small scale, showing the method of mounting such a pan on a furnace.

Referring to the drawings in detail, my

improved pan is relatively narrow and long in shape, suitable dimensions being found in practice to be three and one-half by twelve feet. Although, in many cases, the sides may be constructed of wood,l I have, for convenience, illustrated in the drawings the entire pan as being made of sheet metal. The pan comprises a flat bottom 1, sides 2and ends 3 and 4, 3 being the back and 4 the front of the pan which is over the fur nace. Asv an illustration, I may say that the sides may be made five inches in height at the back, preferably sloping to four inches in height at the front, the rear end being siX inches high.

Extending across the pan from side to side are a series of transverse partitions dividing the pan into compartments. These partitions are shown as fifteen in number, and are designated by the reference numerals 5, e, 7, e, 9, io, ii, is, is, i4., i5, i6, i7, is, 19, the partition 5 being the one nearest the front lend of the pan.

This rst partition 5 is preferably about three inches in height, or an inch below the sides of the pan, and the partitions 6, 7 and 8 are the same height. Partitions 9, 10 and 11 are progressively a little higher.

Each of the partitions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10y and 11 is provided at alternate ends with an opening or notch at the bottom, similar tothe opening 6a in the partition 6, as shown in Fig. 7, such opening being preferably about two and onehalf inches high and four inches wide. It will be understood that in practice, the liquid runs through these notches or openings and flows back and forth between the partitions in a Zig-zag path, as is common in this art.

Partition 12, which is more clearly shown in Fig. 4, extends welll-above the sides of the pan and is provided with ears 12e which overhang the upper edges of the sides. The partition 12 is provided with anotch or opening 12a lin one of its lower' corners, which is arranged to be closed by means of a sliding gate 12b, mounted in suitable waysl or guides 12c and operated by means of a pivoted lever 12d. i

Partitions 13, 14 and 15 extend preferably slightly above the upper edges of the sides of the pan, and are, o-f course, also provided with openings or notches in alternate corners. The partition 16 is similar to 12 and is provided with a sliding gate 16b for closing the opening therethrough.

Partition 17 is again preferably somewhat lower than the sides of the pan, while partitions 18 and 19 are of special ,construction, as shown in Fig. 6. Each of these partitions has a sloping upper edge, as'indicated at 18au and 19a, extending la short distance from the respective sides of the pan, and then continues with a straight Cil upper edge across the pan to Within a few inches ofthe opposite side,y sueh `straight edge being relatively loiv, preferably at a height not greater than one and one-half inches.

2O designates the opening for the discharge of the finished sirup, a suitable spout 20 being provided on the outside of the pan.

Between tivo of the partitions near the middle of the pan, as, for example, between the partitions ii-3 and la, l mount a screen or strainer 2l. AThis may be slidably held in guides 2l, as clearly shown in the drawings. The object of this strainer is Ato prevent impurities and foreign-matter from getting intothe finishedsirup. It is much easier and more vpractical to strain the half tinished liquidV at some such intermediate point as this than to yendeavor to strain finished sirup after it has become thick and viscous.

rlhe gates 12b and 1Gb are for the purpose of controlling the flow of the liquid, as may be required to insure the proper cooking and evaporation thereof, the proper rate of flow, off course, ,being dependent upon the existing heat. of the `lire.

One of the mainV features of the 4invention consists in combining with an evaporating pan constructed' as described, troughs Afor automatically removing the scum Vfronijthe,isirup and returning it to the front end of thepan.` l provide one ofthese troughs on each side of the pan, as indicated at 22, the troughs being preferably narrovveratjthe rear than at the kfront enfd,"as shown in Fig. l, and comijnunieating through a notch or opening 23 with the first or front compartment of the pan.

The outer edges 22a of those troughs are preferably someivhat higher than the side edges 2aof ,the pan, as shown-.in Fig. 3, while the bottom ofthe trough yis so shaped hat it slopes.ggradually and uniformly from therear toward ythe front end. As au illustration the degree of slope which may be'enipl'oyed, l may state that in practice I have found good results can be obtained by niakingthe ibottom 22 of thev trough approximately half an inch below the upper edge 2 ofthe sidesatthe rear end of the pan, and'lby making such bottom one inch fro'mthe top edge of the sides at the front `It ivill, be recalled that the side edges 2 themselves have a slope of approximately one inch from back to front, so that the relation above described for the troughs gives them a fall of approximately an inch and a half in their length when the panis level. It is customary, however, to slightly elevate the rear end of the pan, and this Will give a somewhat greater slope Lto the troughs. y

,la any event, the slope is suicient to cause the scum Which overflows the side edges of the pan-intothe trough to floivtoivard the front end of the trough and be discharged into the front compartment of the pan, it being understood' that it is this compartment into which the raw juice is fed.

ln order to catch the scum and prevent it from being carried on through the pan again With the raw juice, l provide a strainer in the shape of a Wire basket or similar receptacle 24, and this is made of such size and shape as to neatly fit the front compartment of 'the pan. The basket is preferably provided 4With suitable handles 2li, by means of which it mayV bc lifted out when necessary. rlhe raw juice will serve to dissolve a considerable portion of the scum, butA the undesirable and unusa le portions can be easily disposed offrent time to time by removing thebasket and emptying it It will therefore be observed thatnot only do l provide a strainer 21 for strainingI the partly cooked juice and thus eliminating foreign matter, fromthe finished sirup, but l also provide a second strainer in the form of the .nire basket 24, for straining the scum when it is returned to the front en-d of the pan.

The object of having the ears 1.2Ee projecting over the upperedges of the sides 2" and extending into the troughs 2Q, as shown in et, is to prevent the scum from passing by the partition l2, or the partition 1G, as the case may be` and to cause such scum as may longe against these partitions to flow laterally into the troughs.y Between the partition i6 and thefrear 3 of the pan, it is not necessary to hold back the scum, since Whatever may be` presenti goes over the sides into the troughs.

yReferring to TEig. 8, yit Willbe seen that the pan visusually mounted upon a furnace comprising brick'work or the like A, and having aftire: place B and a smoke stack C, soar-ranged that the products of combustion pass under the Whole length ofthe pau. .The lire shouldbe so controlled that no boiling' of the liquidtakes Vplace in the lirst four or live compartments. i

ln operating my improved pan, it is first filled with raw juice throughout, and gate 1Gb is then closed.

Preferably, part of Vthe juice is then drawn out of sirup, outlet 20 until it is only say) one inch deep at back of pan.

This causes the thin layer o'f juice in the rear compartments to boil iirst, andisuch boiling causes the liquid to rise and boil over into the side troughs, as described, and is continued until the sirup in the rear compartments is sufficiently cooked, vvvhen the outlet 20 is opened, and 'the iinished Sirup drawn 0dr At the same time, more juiceV is admitted into the rear compartments through the gate 16h.

The raw juice, as it passes from the basket 24 into the successive compartments, becomes hotter and hotter and soon commences to boil. In each compartment, the liquid boils a little higher but does not boil over into the troughs until it passes the partition 12 because the cold juices coming in at the front end of the pan tend to keep the boiling down, and in the second place, the partitions 9, 10 and 11 are made progressively higher but are kept below the level of the trough, and, due to the slope in the pan from the rear end to the front end, partitions 5, 6, 7 and 8 are also progres sively higher. This arrangement of the partitions 5 to 11 inclusive causes the froth and scum to boil over from one compartment into the next in front, back to the basket 24.

The gate 12b in the partition 12 regulates the flow of the liquid into the compartments beyond partitions 12 and up to the partition 16. In these compartments the scum does not boil over from one into the other but owing to the height of the partitions 13, 14 and 15, it passes into the troughs on the sides of the an. rl`he ears 12e on the partition 12 furt er insure the passage of the scum into the troughs and aid in leveling any froth which passes by, thus preventing it from entering the compartment in front of the partition 12.

The purpose of having the partitions 1S, 19, so low, as described, is to permit the steam to freely escape, so that the operator can clearly sec the nature of the sirup being drawn oil'. The relatively high sloping portions, 18aL and 19, however', are opposite the entrance to the preceding compartments, and thus prevent the juice from overflowing these partitions into the sirup as the juice enters these compartments.

lVhat I claim is 1. In a sirup pan, having a skimming trough extending along each side thereof, and a series of transverse partitions in said pan, a plurality of said partitions having portions projecting over the upper edges of the sides of the pan into said troughs.

2. The combination with a sirup pan having a sirup outlet at one end, of a series of transverse partitions extending across the pan and dividing it into compartments, said partitions being cut away at alternate ends to provide a Zig-zag path for the liquid, the partitions near the out-let end of the pan being lower throughout their middle portions than the other partitions, and havingtheir end portions, opposite the cut away ends of adjacent partitions, higher than their middle portions, whereby the overflowing of the liquid at such ends as it enters the respective compartments is prevented.

3. In a sirup pan having skimming troughs extending along each side thereof and inclined toward the front end of said pan, and transverse partitions dividing said pan into compartments, a series of said partitions having their upper edges progressively higher but below the sides o' the pan, whereby any scum formed on the surface of a high boiling liquid is made to flow back over the partitions to the front end of said pan and into a removable woven wire basket instead of into said troughs, a second series of said partitions following said first named series having their' upper edges higher than the sides of the pan wherebjY any scum formed on the surface of a high boiling liquid is made to pass over the sides of the pan into said inclined troughs.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

RGBERT ASA MEADOWS. 

